“I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.  O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you brought up my soul from She’ol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit” (Psalm 30: 1-3).

I prayed with this Psalm in the morning.  Walter Brueggemann, one of the most respected Old Testament scholars and authors in our age, in his The Message of thePsalms, related the forms of Psalms to the realities of human experience.  He introduced three major themes of Psalm:  Orientation, Disorientation, and New Orientation.

This psalm is a quite beautiful example of New Orientation and Thanksgiving song and tells the story of going to the trouble and coming out of the trouble.  You have drawn me up (v.1); You have healed me (v. 2b); You have lifted up my life (v. 3a); You have restored me to life (v. 3b).  With gratitude and thanksgiving, I praise God with you. God has drawn us.  God has healed us.  God has lifted up us.  God has restored us.

As WUMC, a beloved community, begins our new fall season of 2017, I would like to celebrate those who have served WUMC for over 30 years.  They are “so great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). And at WUMC, "we are surrounded by so many great cloud of witnesses,” these amazing sisters, and brothers in Christ. They are beautiful examples and witnesses of faithful commitment to God at WUMC.    

Let’s celebrate their unwavering commitments and services to God at WUMC in October.  Let’s throw a great party with delicious foods and fellowship.

With Love,

Pastor Oh